1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for setting addresses in a data communication system.
2. Description of Related Art
In communication circuits, serial interfaces such as RS485 serial interfaces are familiar communication interfaces for data communications between a master device such as a server and a plurality of slave devices such as uninterrupted power supplies (UPS). In communication between the master device and the slave devices, the master device transmits data to a slave device by using an address of the slave device. A slave device receives data corresponding to its own address and transmits response data to the master device. Thus the master device is able to transmit data to a slave device.
A way to set addresses in earlier RS485 control systems uses two rotary address switches to set the address. The two rotary address switches use a decimal format to set the addresses of the slave devices of the RS485 bus control system. When the RS485 bus control system includes several hundred or several thousand slave devices, setting the addresses of the slave devices becomes time consuming, and the possibility of mistakes is great.
What is desired, therefore, is to provide a method and system for setting respective identification numbers for a plurality of slave devices constituting a network.